Phone Blockade Against Aston Villa

PHONE BLOCKADE GUIDANCE DOC

📣 Phone Blockade: Targeting Aston Villa

Thank you for joining this action and taking an active role in pressuring Aston Villa to cancel it's game on 6th November against maccabi tel aviv- the violent israeli football club travelling across the world to normalise an settler colonial and GENOCIDAL state.

In this document, you’ll find clear instructions for how to take part in the blockade scheduled for Monday 20th October 9:30-2pm. 

Please read this doc in full before acting.

🔗 Linktree with all relevant forms:  are not entering into any debates with Aston Villa staff.

We know by allowing maccabi tel aviv to play against them in Villa Park, Aston Villa is joining in normalising genocide through football, and in turn enabling israel’s participation in global tournaments, granting legitimacy to an occupying force that commits genocide against the Palestinian people.

This action is about showing the overwhelming public demand for Palestine solidarity and for immediate cancellation of the match.

Our demand

That Aston Villa cancels its match against maccabi tel aviv scheduled for Thursday 6th Nov, 8pm 

That Aston Villa immediately release a statement condemning israel targetting and murdering Palestinian football players and the role football has played in normalising the illegal occupation of Palestine.

That Aston Villa pressures the FA to ban Israel from its tournaments and stops providing cover for apartheid and genocide.

Our tactic

We will jam Aston Villa's phone lines and make it absolutely clear: Villa must cancel this abhorrent match.

TO DO:

1) Read this guidance document.

2) Check the Timeslots spreadsheet in the linktree to see where we are low on people. We want ideally a concentration of people at the start of the day, however choose whichever slots suit you. We want multiple people in each slot so don't be deterred if your preferred slot is filled! If you don't know when you will be free, that's no problem.

3) Sign up to the slot(s) you want to do (or just register that you will be randomly participating through the day) on the Sign up form in the linktree. Use any name/ alias, this is just used so that if you forget which times you signed up to you can check the Timeslots spreadsheet again. Your sign up will be entered in manually to the spreadsheet by a volunteer so please be patient if you don't see your sign up appear on the spreadsheet immediately.

4) On the day, during your time-slot(s), call the phone number(s) repeatedly.

5) Refresh this instructions page during your slot. If there's updates we will leave them in the phone numbers section below or on the spreadsheet.

6) Leave feedback about how it went on the spreadsheet via the form on the link-tree.

7) Delete the calls out of your call log.

IF YOU GET THROUGH TO SOMEONE:

We have prepared a script for you to read (at the bottom of this document).

Often once the blockade has been going for a while, they will start to hang up on you. Take this as a sign that we are getting through to them. It shows we are causing significant disruption.

You can start the call with 'I have a question about the upcoming tournament’ or 'I am having a look through the teams Villa is going to play' and then say the script in order to keep them on the line longer.

Remember, the purpose of this action is not to get into a two way conversation / debate about Aston Villa’s role or football's in the israeli genocide of Palestinians, it is simply to demand they cancel their game against maccabi tel aviv in line with international law.

Once the call has ended, call them again! Keep distracting them until your 15-minute time slot is over.

IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH:

Often the phone lines will be disengaged once the blockade has been going a while. If all/ the phone line are disengaged:

Leave at least one voicemail for each (reading out the script or something similar)

Once the call has ended, call them again!

NUMBERS:

*If you wish to hide your phone number from those you are ringing, enter '141' before entering their phone number.*

Match Ticket Line: 0333 323 1874- Main target line

Club Reception: 0121 327 2299

Hospitality & Events: 0333 323 1982

Phone Script:

Hello, I’m calling as a concerned football fan and Villa fan to demand that Aston Villa cancels its match against maccabi tel aviv, that is set to happen on Thursday 6th November.

This is an appalling event that cannot go ahead. Maccabi tel aviv has encouraged violence and racist chants, calling for the deaths of arabs and celebrating the murder of Palestinian children by israel. Allowing this match to go ahead and selling tickets for this match risks the safety of Aston Villa players, fans and members of the British public more widely.

maccabi's disgusting behaviour last year, terrorising the citizens of Amsterdam got the club and its fans banned from the city, we must follow this precedent and ban maccabi tel aviv from entering birmingham by cancelling this game and for you to stop selling tickets to the match.

For decades, and especially since the latest genocidal onslaught began nearly 2 years ago, Israel has been violating multiple FIFA and UEFA statutes by:

- Running clubs in illegal settlements such as Ariel, Oranit, Tomer and Morel.

- Systematically destroying Palestinian football pitches and stadiums,

- Murdering at least 265 Palestinian football players and continuing to risk the lives of many more through its non-stop criminal onslaught of Palestinians in Gaza

-Permanently disabling thousands of Palestinians who played grassroots and professional football.

This behaviour is clear evidence of racial discrimination, political interference, and violations of Articles 2, 4, 14, and 72 of FIFA’s own constitution.

By allowing maccabi to play, Aston Villa becomes complicit in genocide and gives legitimacy to an illegal occupying force.

Aston Villa must act now: join calls to ban Israel from world football and cancel the game.

Guidance for conversation:

The workers on the phone may try to pass you off in order to avoid being held accountable, in response you should emphasise that you have already been passed around and it is essential that your concerns are heard now.

Some questions you may want to lead with or respond with through the conversation:

- I am just calling to ask if you are aware that Aston Villa is currently complicit in genocide by allowing macabbi tel aviv to play in our city.

- As an employee, do you feel comfortable knowing that your organisation is making money from the murder of other football players and civilians?

- What are you as a worker for Aston Villa going to do to raise these issues with your employer?